Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations

Democrats To Unveil Ambitious ‘Medicare For All’ Plan That Would Shift Americans Onto One Government Insurer Over Two Years

The plan, which will be released by Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) is more aggressive than the plan from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), which has been touted by progressive lawmakers and 2020 candidates alike. Under the Medicare for All Act of 2019, the federal government would pay for health coverage for every American, including premiums, copays or deductibles, and benefits would include primary care, outpatient services, prescription drugs, dental care, substance-abuse and mental-health treatment, full reproductive services, as well as long-term care and services. The measure is largely symbolic as it faces certain death in the GOP-controlled Senate.

The Washington Post:
More Than 100 House Democrats To Unveil ‘Battle-Ready’ Medicare-For-All Plan As 2020 Election Looms
Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, is expected to release legislation Wednesday that incorporates key policy demands of single-payer activists, aiming to overhaul the U.S. health-care system even faster and more dramatically than legislation proposed in 2017 by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). Jayapal’s Medicare-for-all would move every American onto one government insurer in two years, while providing everyone with medical, vision, dental and long-term care at no cost. Similar proposals have been projected to increase federal expenditures by at least $30 trillion but virtually eradicate individuals’ health spending by eliminating payments such as premiums and deductibles. (Stein, 2/26)

Reuters:
U.S. House Democrats Introduce Sweeping 'Medicare For All' Bill
Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives unveiled an ambitious proposal on Tuesday to move all Americans into the government's Medicare health insurance program, tapping into public frustration over the rising cost of healthcare that has become a key issue for the party as it seeks to gain control of Congress and the White House in 2020. The bill, unveiled by Democratic Representative Pramila Jayapal from Washington state, would transition the U.S. healthcare system to a single-payer "Medicare for All" program funded by the government in two years. (Abutaleb, 2/26)

The Wall Street Journal:
House Democrats Reveal Plan For Medicare For All
It would expand the Medicare program for seniors to younger Americans, replacing Medicaid for the low income and disabled and most employer-sponsored coverage. Employers and private insurers would be barred from providing benefits or selling coverage that duplicates benefits, but they could provide supplemental coverage. Benefits would include primary care, outpatient services, prescription drugs, dental care, substance-abuse and mental-health treatment, full reproductive services, as well as long-term care and services. The transition to the new system would take place over about two years. Existing medical benefits or services under the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Indian Health Service would continue. (Armour and Peterson, 2/26)

The Hill:
Progressive Democrats Unveil Medicare For All Plan In House
The 2020 presidential candidates have taken a variety of stances on what “Medicare for all” means, with some favoring more incremental steps like allowing people 55 and over to buy into Medicare. Jayapal emphasized Tuesday that Medicare for all means a full-scale, government-run health insurance system for everyone. “This medicare for all bill really makes it clear what we mean by Medicare for all,” Jayapal said. “We mean a system where there are no private insurance companies that provide these core comprehensive benefits.” (Sullivan, 2/26)

Bloomberg:
Democrats Unveil `Medicare For All' Bill Favored By Liberal Base
For now, Medicare for all has no chance of becoming law in a divided Congress. Democrats control the House but Speaker Nancy Pelosi and a number of party moderates are resisting the idea. On Tuesday, a member of the House Democratic leadership, Hakeem Jeffries of New York, kept his distance from the proposal, saying the Democratic caucus supports universal coverage but wants to focus on strengthening the 2010 Affordable Care Act and lowering drug costs. (Kapur and Tozzi, 2/26)

The Hill:
Push For ‘Medicare For All’ Worries Centrist Dems
Centrist Democrats who helped their party win back the House majority with victories in key swing districts last fall are sounding the alarm that the liberal push for “Medicare for all” could haunt them as they try to defend their seats and keep control of the House. Instead, these moderates — many of whom will face tough reelection bids in 2020 — are pressing their party leaders to work with President Trump and Republicans to deliver to voters back home a bipartisan victory on lowering prescription drug prices and other health efforts rather than focus on an aspirational Medicare for all messaging bill. (Wong, 2/27)

The New York Times:
What Would ‘Medicare For All’ Do To Medicare?
The basic idea of “Medicare for all” is that all Americans should get access to the popular, government-run program. But a new bill toward this goal, the first introduced in the current Congress, would also drastically reshape Medicare itself. The bill, from Representative Pramila Jayapal of Washington and more than 100 Democratic House co-sponsors, would greatly expand Medicare and eliminate the current structure of premiums, co-payments and deductibles. (Sanger-Katz, 2/26)

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